Pirates Life For Me
by CrysChan96
Summary: Leico Pirate AU. -"So...uh...mind telling me what you're doing here?" He questioned her, the confidence in his voice wavering as he asked. He didn't want to seem weak in front of her, but he couldn't help it with the tone she'd been giving him.- Warning! There will be cross-dressing, and yaoi in this chapter. If you don't like, don't read. Rated M for later chapters.
1. I: My Luck Is Awful

_**[Author's Note]:**__ This is my first Leico fanfiction so please bear with me if they may seem out of character. I don't mean it if they are. _

_**[Disclaimer]:**__ I do not own any of the characters in this story, or the book itself. They belong to Rick Riordan._

_Thanks for Reading!_

_~Crys._

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Leo swung back and forth, the wind effortlessly swinging him higher the more he drifted, his hands tied behind his back. He moved and wiggled, trying his best to struggle free, and get out of the bindings, but it was to no avail. This is definitely one of my days. He thought to himself, a blank look on his expressions as he let out a sigh, closing his eyes. His curly locks flowing easily in the wind, frustration coming over him as he thought about how this even happened.

"Wow, my luck really is awful.." He mumbled to himself, his eyes still closed. They shot open when he heard a stick crack in the distance, he looked towards the direction it broke to see a young woman looking down at her feet. He could hear her easily, and stopped himself from laughing as she swore, from the looks of it she broke one of her shoes. She was probably a couple years younger than himself, fifteen? Maybe sixteen. She wore a black dress, which was laced down the front, the color of it a light grey. A ribbon went around her waist, which looked like it was done so twice, and tied behind her. Her hair was tied up in a pony tail with the same kind of colored ribbon tied around her waist, some of the strands of hair falling into her face along with her bangs, and by the looks of it, if she let it loose it would stop just at the end of her shoulder blades.

Her make up was light, with a dark purple eyeshadow, black eyeliner, that covered the top and lower part of her eyes (which was messed up from her wiping at her eyes). Her eyes were a beautiful brown (well in Leo's opinion it was), her skin having a tan glow to it, but obviously pale. Her figure was smallish looking, but she looked like she could put up a fight if she really wanted to. Her bangs weren't too long, but long enough to drape over her eyes a bit, but she was still able to see perfectly fine obviously.

"Whoa." Leo spoke quietly as he stared at her, she was beautiful, and he definitely wanted to try and get with her. She looked like a girl who was probably way out of his league, but that wouldn't stop him from trying, besides, that was his type. She had a frustrated look on her face as she took off the heels she wore, throwing them sideways, not watching where they went. As Leo stared at her, he hadn't gotten enough time (or even noticed them right away) to dodge the pair of heels that smacked his face. One hitting his forehead, another smacking the side of his cheek. "Ow!" He yelped.

Her gaze found it's way to him, a look of surprise on her expression, like she hadn't expected anyone to be there, but it didn't last long, and turned to a blank look as she saw he was tied up. She walked up barefoot to him, which it didn't look like it bothered her that much (Leo admired that), stopping in front of him. She was maybe only a couple of feet away from him, and his heart raced a bit as he watched her. They were able to look into each others' eyes, as Leo admired those caramel orbs, he could see sadness in them, and what looked like pain. He wondered subconsciously what could've caused this gorgeous woman to look so sad.

She had her hands on her hips, and stared at him like she was wondering if she should help him down or not. Thankfully for Leo, she decided to do so. She moved the dress up, Leo stared as his face became a bright red, it stopped right in the middle of her upper thigh. Her legs (he was only able to see a glimpse of the other one) were pretty pale compare to the rest of her skin tone, but it was still a light tan. She unhooked the strap on the dagger and pulled it out. She walked over to him, now only a few inches away, and her chest in front of his face as she cut the ropes. The sound bringing joy to the dark haired male, but the blush still dark on his face, as he held somewhat of a smile. She stopped, his hands now free, he rubbed them, examining them upside down before looking at her. His weapons had been tossed somewhere else, so he was pretty much helpless and depending on this stranger.

"If you do anything to hurt me, expect to get your throat cut. Got it?" Leo blinked, a bit of fear crossing him before he quickly nodded. It wasn't the first time he's been threatened with something like that, but he still didn't like the sound of it. She continued to cut the ropes, slicing them one by one. She reached up, holding onto the last ropes she had to cut before he was free. As soon as the rope was cut, Leo couldn't stop his fall. He fell onto her, laying in a horizontal position across the woman under him. She struggled a bit to push him, off but he gradually moved to where he was on his hands and knees, only hovering above her.

"Move." She hissed, glaring up at him, but he did as she requested, quickly moving off of her and getting to his feet. He dusted off his pants before walking over and picking up his dis-guarded weapons. Leo picked up his sheathed sword, putting it back to where it belonged. He walked over, passing the strange woman (who was putting her dagger back) and picked up his own bronze dagger. He slipped it into his boot, staring at her as she fixed her dress, she was still looking down as she dusted it off, before she looked over towards him. A glare on her face as she noticed him looking at her.

"What?" Her tone was far from friendly, and it almost sent a chill down Leo's spin. The blush had slowly made it's way back to his face as he stood there.

"Well...I was just thinking about how beau-"

"Save it, seadog, I don't want to hear any of your flirtatious comments." Leo blinked at the harsh tone, crossing her arms over her chest (which Leo couldn't help but stare at), as she tapped her foot.

"So I guess that means you've been flirted with a lot before?" He questioned a smile coming to his face as his eyes moved to meet her's, so he wouldn't get smacked or anything like that if she caught him staring at her chest. It wasn't like he was disrespectful to women either, he didn't normally stare at a girl's chest, but he found it a bit odd she was flat chested. Of course, it didn't bother him that she was, he had just never met a woman her age and not have them without some sort of package. She rolled her eyes, giving off her own sign that she had caught him before he looked up.

"Yeah, and keep your eyes on my face, pervert." Leo blushed, her hand on her hip, his gaze quickly moving somewhere else so he wouldn't have to look at her.

"So...uh...mind telling me what you're doing here?" He questioned her, the confidence that had been in his tone before vanishing as he asked. He didn't want to seem weak in front of her, but he couldn't help it with the tone she'd been giving him every time she talked to him.

"The ship I was on got raided by female pirates...they...they dumped me here after they got what they needed." Leo had a feeling she was sort of lying, which caused Leo to look at her and raise an eyebrow. He hadn't noticed her lips before, but they had black lipstick on them, it suit her honestly, and they were twitching a bit from her answer.

"I'm Leo Valdez, Captain of the Argo II." He puffed out his chest and a grin on his face, which caused her to roll her eyes at him, again. She walked up to him, she stopped in front of him, smacking his chest, causing him to grab at the spot and cough a bit, before beginning to walk towards the wooded area.

"Come on, Commander stupid, we have to get off this island. I hope whoever tied you up didn't steal your ship. Even if I'd expect it."


	2. II: Bait

_**[Author's Note]:**__ This is my first Leico fanfiction so please bear with me if they may seem out of character. I don't mean it if they are. _

_**[Disclaimer]:**__ I do not own any of the characters in this story, or the book itself. They belong to Rick Riordan._

_Thanks for Reading!_

_~Crys._

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How in the world did he end up stuck with this idiot? _I'm Leo Valdez, Captain of the Argo II._ Nico wasn't sure exactly why those words kept running through his head. Was it because he'd never actually met a pirate that would give their name out that easily? At least, not with out say something along the lines of 'Oh! You don't know me?! I'm blah blah', but Leo hadn't seemed too surprised that Nico hadn't heard of it, and it made the Italian suspicious. Nico looked back every once in a while, just to see if Leo was keeping up, or whatever the pirate was doing. Nico did not want to get stabbed in the back...or something worse happening to him.

When he looked back he could see Leo looking down at his feet, Nico continued to stare at Leo. For a pirate, Leo looked pretty cleaned up. His hair was a mess, and bits of his skin and clothes were covered in grease and oil, but other than that, he was decent. Nico stared for a few more minutes, before running into a tree. Nico stumbled back, coming close to falling if it hadn't been for Leo, who now held him by his armpits. The Italian blinked, trying to process what just happened before it hit him. He'd just run into a tree while staring at Leo...and now said Latino was holding him. Nico was more than sure if the male made any kind of flirtatious comment to him, then there was a very good chance Leo will end up with a black eye.

"You okay?" Nico pushed himself up, Leo easily letting him go after he stood completely. Nico was shocked at how much concern Leo had in his voice, and it was in a way...pleasant. Nico looked up at Leo, there wasn't a smile on his face, and his expression matched the tone of his voice.

"Yeah..." Nico mumbled as he dusted the dress off. God, he hated this dress, if he could, he would've gotten rid of it a long time ago, but he had been forced to be on the island with this on. The female pirates had not been very kind to him when they discovered he wasn't a she, but he was only happy they hadn't slaughtered him. Nico fixed his dress and began to walk again, Leo catching up to walk along side Nico.

"So, uh...I never got your name..."

* * *

Nico and Leo were hiding behind a large bush that rested behind two large trees, Nico was relieved that Leo's ship hadn't been stolen, but it was being guarded by the people who had tied the tan male up. He glanced at Leo who had a serious expression on his face, which Nico couldn't help but admire a bit. The male didn't think Leo could be very serious, but the sight before him proved him wrong. Nico's gaze looked back at the pirates, there were only two of them, but they were still a lot more muscular than Leo and himself, and Nico was slightly worried they wouldn't stand a chance.

"Who are they?" Nico wondered out loud, not really expecting an answer, but ended up getting one anyway.

"Those two are apart of a small colony of pirates that take refuge on an island about an hour away from here. Their colony are called the Titans, and they're not a group you want to mess with. They don't hesitate to kill and it's rare for them to even agree with offers." Nico looked over at Leo after he was done explaining, an eyebrow raised at him.

"You've encountered this group before I'm assuming." Nico asked, a frown on his face as he waited for Leo to answer him. The captain smirked at Nico and nodded.

"Yeah, though I've only really come across their path when I was with the crew I was on. This was the first time I actually encountered them without my frien- I mean crew mates. " He explained, Nico looking at him curiously when Leo almost said friends. He nodded letting him know that he understood the situation.

"You have a plan to get past them? From how you make them sound we wouldn't want to get in a fight with them." Nico questioned looking out at the pirates that stood there, laughing and talking. Nico couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but he really didn't want to know. He just wanted to get on the ship and off of this island, and hope he would be taken home without any trouble.

"Yeah, but there's a little problem with the plan." Leo answered, causing Nico to look at him, worry filling him when he heard the comment.

"What do you mean there's a problem? I'm sure it'll do," Nico insisted, "besides, we can work out the kinks." Nico finished, his hand resting on top of the bush that hid them.

Leo looked like he was contemplating on telling him the plan, Nico subconsciously wondering if it had anything that would involve either being hurt, or possibly left behind if not done correctly. The thought didn't reassure Nico at all, and he just silently prayed that wasn't the case.

"Uh...how do you feel about being bait?"

* * *

The plan was well thought out, and actually sort of showed Nico the smart side of Leo by how it sounded. Nico patiently stood there, waiting for Leo to give the signal for him to go out there, glancing at him nervously as he waited. When he got the signal from Leo, Nico had dusted his dress off, and wandered out to the sand, his feet were hurting from walking on rocks and on twigs, but he didn't let it get to him. He stood there, his part in this registering through his head.

"Help!" He yelled, catching the pirates' attention, one of the men huffed at the sight of Nico before looking at the one next to him obviously both beginning to ignore him. Nico huffed as he cleared his throat and yelled again. "Help me please! I'm in terrible trouble!" He wasn't even sure why he was asking pirates for help, rather this was just a cover or not, he knew this part was sure to fail. What pirate would help someone out? Well...as long as they paid them they would, but it didn't seem right to Nico that they would just help him out of the kindness of their heart. He was right too, they looked at each other, and then began to laugh loudly. Nico's eye twitched a bit in annoyances, but he kept up the appearance of a helpless woman needing assistance.

"Woman, are you mad? You expect us to help you? What's in it for us?" One of the pirates mused.

"Yeah, if you want our help it'll cost you lots." Agreed the other. Nico felt his heart beginning to race at their request for money. Nico bit the inside of his cheek, making a fist. He could seen Leo slowly making his was past them, and for this to be successful and for them to get off this island, Leo needed more time.

"I'll pay you! Whatever you want, just please help me." Nico begged, falling to his knees, his hands entangled together looking like he was praying. Trying his best to put on a good play. Leo was halfway to the boat, and Nico prayed silently that they would come up to him and 'help' him out. They did come closer, and as they made their was towards him, Nico letting his hands fall to his lap to rest there, gradually and carefully pushing the dagger on his thigh out of it's holder. They made their way forward, Nico glancing at Leo who was climbing up the ship's side now.

One of the pirates knelt down beside Nico, grabbing his face to study it. The guy was a mess. He smelled and looked ever worse up close, causing Nico to cringe a bit at it. The pirate let go of Nico's face and stood where he was, studying Nico, who now had dirt now on his chin.

"Well, brother, what do you think we should do? Should we help the maiden?" The pirate looked over towards the one still standing, Nico looking between them in a pleading manner, only hoping his acting was good enough. He looked at Leo again, who was now on the ship working at the controls, Leo looked up, their eyes meeting. He nodded, giving the sign it was time for Nico to wrap this up and meet him on the ship.

"She'd said she'd give us whatever we wanted. You think she'll open her legs for us?" Nico's heart stopped at that answer, he looked up at the pirates, a frown on his face, and instead of a look of plead for help, it held anger. There was no way in hell they were going to anything like that to him. Nico quickly moved his down, reaching under the dress as best he could while they were distracted for a minute, talking about what they would do with him. He grabbed the dagger, waiting for them to make a move before pulling it out. They advanced, which Nico didn't hesitate to pull out the dagger and hold it up as a defense.

They stopped for a minute, looking at each other again, before they started to laughed at him, both pulling out swords, and held it up in front of Nico. "What are you going to do with that, maiden? I puny knife is nothing compared to a real man's sword." Nico rolled his eyes at that comment, and just as the one who was kneeling moved forward, Nico stabbed his arm. He howled in pain, Nico taking the chance to stand up, and began to ran past them, but the pirate standing grabbed Nico's hair, pulling on it. Luckily for the male, his hair was a wig, which came off as soon as the pirate started pulling.

Nico was free from the grip, his hair was a mess, but he didn't care that it was. He needed to get to the ship. He ran as fast as he could with the dagger in his hand, the pirates cursing as they realized what was going on, and began to chase him. Nico was there first, and quickly grabbed the ladder, climbing up as fast as he possibly could. He was about a quarter of the way up when the pirates were about three feet from the boat. Nico climbed faster, reaching the top of the boat quickly, he climbed inside and began to roll up the latter. Leo beginning to start up the ship as soon as he saw Nico on the boat. The ship backed out, causing Nico to almost fall over, but he caught himself and now had the rope latter up onto the boat.

The brother pirates cursed as Leo sailed off, turning the boat in a different direction, and as soon as it was completely turned around, he put it in overdrive and took off. Nico was out of breath, gripping the sides of the ship, falling to the side and laying there exhausted.

"Fuck." Nico breathed out as he laid there, moving to lay on his back, his eyes closed. He heard a laugh, his eyes opening partially and looking over towards the captain of this ship.

"Well...at least we got away." Leo chuckled as he looked back at Nico who stared up at him, and eyebrow raised. He began to chuckle a bit as he looked back up at the sky. _Yeah, at least we got away._

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**_[Author's Note]:_**_ Forgot to put this in the last chapter, but, don't be afraid to review! I'd love to hear what you guys have to say about the story. I also accept constructive criticism, so if you'd like to give me some of that too, then go ahead. :3_


	3. III: Truth

_**[Author's Note]:**__ Sorry if it's too short. I'll make the next chapter longer. __Also, I do plan on going back and forth each chapter from their POV, so if it gets confusing let me know._

_**[Disclaimer]:**__ I do not own any of the characters in this story, or the book itself. They belong to Rick Riordan._

_Thanks for Reading!_

_~Crys._

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Leo tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he looked out to the ocean. It was a beautiful day, almost didn't feel like they just escaped from an island that had two ugly goons that were apart of Kronos's group. Leo always had a habit of running into this underlings instead of the captain himself. The Latino wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing either. He remembered being told stories about Kronos by a few of his crew mates who he'd planned to meet up with soon. The stuff he heard was not good. He turned to look over at Nico, who's eyes were closed and still laying on the floor. He stopped tapping his fingers and examined her more, feeling like there was something off. Her hair had not been that short.

Leo moved off the wheel and walked down the steps that led down to the deck, walking towards her. He stood over her, before he moved to kneel down next to her. She wasn't asleep because the second he'd gotten down to his knees her eyes were open and staring at him.

"What do you want?" Her tone was harsh, which honestly didn't surprise Leo that much, the attitude in her voice hadn't changed much since she cut him down.

"What happened to your hair?" He questioned as he moved to sit down, his legs crossed in front of him as he stared at Nico. She quickly sat up, her eyes a bit wide like she just realized what had happened. She touched her hair, one of her hands moving down till it got to the ends of her hair. He heard her curse again, as she let the hand fall to her lap and her head falling forward. Leo waited for an answer, which when she finally looked at him, that death glare was on her face again. It strangely sent shivers down Leo's spin, but he stood where he was, still waiting for an answer.

"I was wearing a wig." Leo raised an eyebrow at that comment, a confused expression on his face. Nico let out a sigh, almost like she could read his thoughts. "I...I wear it to make me look more feminine." He heard her admit to him as the glare turned to the ground. Like it had been it's fault that the wig was now off her head.

"But...That doesn't make sense...you look feminine enough now. Why do does your hair need to be long for you to look more feminine?" Leo questioned, not realizing that what he said might have been insulting.

"I mean, you look good either way, but I don't understand why you would need a wig in the first place." He stated, Nico was now giving him a strange look, almost like she wasn't expecting Leo to say that, and it made Leo shift a bit where he sat. Nico let out a sigh as she stood up and fixed the dress, patting it down a bit. She turned towards Leo as he sat there looking up at her.

This took occurred for about a few minutes more before Nico finally began to speak. "Well...I'm..not suppose to look feminine." He heard her murmur, like she was trying to keep the statement from him. Before he could question it, she stalked off, leaving Leo there completely confused. He looked over towards her, standing up quickly, and nearly falling over his feet as he ran after her.

"Wait, why are you not suppose to be feminine? I mean it's not like you're a guy dressed up like that, right?" Leo had been joking when he asked the female that, but the look on her face said the joke was right on the spot. She looked away from him, cursing again, before bringing a hand up and nervously rubbing her arm. Leo's mouth fell open at that. "Wait a minute..you're..a..." He trailed off.

"Yes, I'm a guy, are you happy you know the truth now?" Nico snapped, an angered expression on his face. Leo smacked his forehead, cringing at the pain, beginning to rub where he hit.

"God, I'm an idiot." He mumbled, earning a huff from Nico.

"You now just realized that?" Leo sent his own glare at Nico, who actually had a grin on his face, almost like he had hoped Leo would get angry. It didn't stay long though. "You're..not going to kick me off right? Or worse, take me back to that island.." Nico questioned, he seemed a bit scared about Leo's answer, which surprised Leo. Nico hadn't actually shown fear to him since they met, always anger...or sarcasm, but seeing the other actually fearful. Well it sort of made Leo want to protect him.

"Of course not, I mean, it's a bit of a shocker that you have a-" Nico covered his mouth at that, a blank expression on his face. Leo got the sign, gently removing the other's hand. "All I'm saying is, you don't have to worry about me kicking you off because of that. I know plenty of people who would, but I'm not one of them." Leo finished, a smile on his as he still held Nico's hand, and not really caring that he was doing so. Leo probably would've continued to hold the hand if the owner hadn't snatched it away.

"Thanks." Nico stated looking somewhere else, a small smile coming to his face as he looked back at Leo.

"No problem, so, now that that's cleared up. Would you like other clothes to change into? Or are you comfortable with that on? Cause if you are, then that's totally cool, it just might make it a bit awkw-"

"Just get me a new outfit, Commander Stupid. I don't want to be in a dress anymore." Nico demanded earning a smirk from Leo. Leo couldn't help but think how cute it was that he was demanding the captain of a pirate ship for something as simple as clothes. He chuckled and nodded.

"Yes, your highness." He joked as he walked off and going down under the deck, as soon as he was under the smile faded from his face. He remembered growing up on ships like this with his mom, it felt nice to be on one again, but he just couldn't handle those memories. It brought him too much pain to even think about it. He walked over grabbing some of the clothes that were on a stack of hay, he picked them up and walked over towards the stairway. The sun hurting his eyes as he walked up to the top of the deck, but it was only for a moment as they began to adjust, when he looked over and saw Nico still standing there, a smile coming to his face again.

"I wonder what you look like in mens' clothing, probably not as cute." He spoke loudly enough for Nico to turn and look at him. He caught the other rolling his eyes as he turned and made his way over to Leo, taking the clothes from him.

"You have a place for me to change in private, right?" Nico questioned as he looked at the clothes in his arms. A smirk came to Leo's face at the question, Nico not noticing it till he didn't get an answer right away. When he looked up, and saw the look, a look of worry and maybe a small glimpse of fear passed over his expressions.

"Aw, and here I was hoping you'd change in front of me." Leo paused, Nico giving Leo a blank look, with a dark red blush on his face, causing the Latino to laugh. "Under the deck maybe, but I have rooms on here too that are empty right now. Make your choice, and if you want, whatever room you choose can be the one you stay in." Leo finished, walking up to the edge of the ship and resting against it. Nico walked off, going to look through the rooms to change. Leo smiled as he looked out onto the sea, part of him had missed being out in the sea, and even though it brought back a lot of agonizing memories, it was still nice to be there.

* * *

It had been about twenty minutes, from what Leo could tell, when Nico came back. Leo was tapping his hands on the side of the ship, not hearing the other walk up till he heard Nico clear his throat. He turned his head to see a nicely dressed Nico, who wore a white dress shirt and black pants. They were a little big on him, since it was one of Leo's outfits, but other wise, he looked good. Leo turned to face him more, Nico pulling down the shirt a bit.

"It's comfortable, I feel like I'm going to fall from the pants being too big, but it'll work." Nico informed Leo as he walked forward, still barefoot. Leo frowned at that, he didn't have any spear shoes, so the best he could think of is trying to find a town nearby to maybe buy some shoes for him. Nico noticed him staring at his feet, looking down a look of realization coming over his expressions, but he quickly shrugged. "It's alright, I don't really need shoes right now, they're not a top priority."

Leo shrugged, well if he doesn't mind being shoeless for a while, then Leo wouldn't push the issue. He walked over towards the controls again, leaning against it as his looked out. _I really hope we don't run into trouble out here.._ He thought to himself as he looked back at Nico who was looking down onto the ocean. A smile coming to Leo face before he looked forward again, placing his chin on top of his hands.

* * *

They'd been out at sea for about two days, Leo's stomach was rumbling, he placed his hand on his stomach and groaned. He had a look of discomfort on his expressions as he leaned over the wheel. He hadn't eaten since two days before he had been hanging upside down on the island, and he doubt he had any good food on the ship. Leo's stomach complained, hunger pains making the captain cringe, causing the Latino to smack his head on the steering wheel and let out a loud groan. Leo didn't hear the footsteps that came up on the deck, so when he turned around, planning on looking for food, his heart nearly stopped as he saw Nico standing there. A hand moving to his heart, as he placed a hand on the wheel to hold onto, holding both tightly as he took deep breaths.

"Fuck, man, don't do that." He let out a sigh as he caught his breath, Nico's face was emotionless as he stared at the pirate.

"You're the captain of a pirate ship, and you're scared of a scrawny fifteen year old? Wow, you're real scary." Nico's commented, Leo rolling his eyes at the sarcasm.

"Okay, but you're a quiet little f- wait a minute, you're fifteen?" Leo questioned, examining the other, which caused Nico's face to tint with a light pink, giving the other a look indicating the other was slow. "You don't look fifteen, maybe a bit too young for me, but I could alwa-." Nico walked up to the male, smacking his forehead, almost like he had known what Leo had been planning to say. He huffed and stormed off, murmuring a word that sounded a lot like 'pervert'. Leo laughed, rubbing his forehead where he got hit. He really shouldn't have said that, Leo wasn't that much older than him if Nico wasn't lying to him, which he was sure he wasn't, but the other didn't need to know that yet.

Leo looked around before he saw a small glimpse of a far away town, a smile coming to his face as he saw the land. He whistled to Nico, who (even though he was angry with Leo and stormed off) hadn't been that far away. Nico walked up, the glare on his face.

"What?" He questioned, Leo pointing out to the land that was about a mile away. Nico expressions changing to that of curiosity as he stared at the island, he looked back at Leo who had a smile on his face.

"Hope you don't mind me making a stop for some supplies."

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_**[Author's Note]:**_ _Leo found Nico's..well.. a guy, and I will be explaining in the next chapter as to why Nico was dressed like that in the story, but anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the story! Review if you'd like, they're appreciated. :3_


	4. IV: Don't Cry

**[Author's Note]:** Okay guys! New chapter. Warning, half way through it's gonna change from Leo to Nico's, so just a heads up. Enjoy~

**[Disclaimer]:** I do not own the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan.

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Leo was under the deck, messing with the engine of the ship, a wrench in his mouth as he examined the kinks that need to be fixed. He removed the tool from his mouth, setting it down next to him, then brought up a dirty hand to scratch his cheek, in the process getting oil on his face. He wiped his nose with his arm, and leaned forward looking through the machinery. His mind always going into what he was working on, the stuff surrounding him vanishing, like only him and the engine existed. He was brought out of this when he heard the door of the engine room opening. He stopped and turned around to find Nico at the top, a hand on the door frame staring down.

"Hey, is the engine fixed yet?" Nico questioned as he walked down the stairs. The engine had blown the second they'd rowed up to the dock, so now they were abandoned there till Leo fixed it. Leo was just happy they were nearby a town when it happened. Leo wiped the oil on his pants, turning around completely to give the other male more of his attention. Nico reached the last step, looking around the area, Leo had almost forgotten that Nico hadn't actually been down here before, he'd only seen glimpses of the room. Leo smiled standing up, making sure his hands were at least somewhat cleaned as he stood there.

"No, it might take another day or two, I hope you're not impatient about getting home." Nico shook his head, the male had actually lightened up to Leo in the past couple of days that they've been there, and now wouldn't always scowl at Leo every time he talked.

"It's fine, I'm not in too much of a rush." Nico informed Leo who smiled, nodding. "I'm going to go into town to get some supplies, you want me to pick you up anything?" Nico questioned Leo, who's first instinct was to look back at the engine, thinking about if he needed any parts. He shook his head when he looked back at Nico.

"No, I don't think I do, but if I do I'll probably get them myself later." The Latino informed, smiling at the male who nodded and began to walk up the stairs. He closed the door behind him, leaving Leo to his work, the male sighing as he walked over to the engine and continuing where he left off.

Leo let out a sigh, his head falling back, laying against the back of the chair as he stared up at the ceiling. Nico had been late getting back, it was almost dark when the male finally boarded the ship again, and he had been faced with a very worried Latino. Leo had somewhat nagged at Nico too when he got back, Leo coming close to hugging him, but stopped himself. Nico had huffed at him and stormed off, going to the far corner room he'd called his own the day he got on the boat. So they've been away from each other for a good two hours.

His hands hung at his sides, he was about a quarter of the way done with the engine, and he was exhausted. He hadn't slept for the two days they'd been there, and Leo had kept that information from Nico. He didn't want to worry the other, or make him think that Leo couldn't do the job correctly if he didn't sleep, really Leo saw it as a gift that he could keep working on only an hour of sleep, but he knew it wasn't the best thing to do to his body. Leo sat up, rubbing his eye with the back of his wrist instead of his hand, not wanting to get oil or grease in his eye. He let his hand fall to his lap as he stared around the area groggily.

He stood up and moved around the chair to walk towards the door. He walked up the steps, reaching for the handle when the door opened on its own. Now face to face with the other male. They both stood there a bit in shock, Leo moving his hand back down to his side, and avoided the other's gaze, which right now, he had a good idea that Nico was scowling at him.

They were like that for a couple of minutes, Leo not being able to take the silence between them anymore, he cleared his throat, already having the male attention, but wanting to break the silence some way. "I-"

"Look, I know I was out longer than normal, but what I do is my business, and I have no right to explain to you why I was late. We don't even really know each other, so what's the point in worrying about someone who you don't even know?" Leo looked at Nico, returning his own glare at the (still) shoeless male.

"I was worried because..." Leo trailed off, his argument falling short. He wasn't exactly sure why he was so worried, he couldn't just tell Nico that it was because he felt a need to protect him, he was more than positive that would lead Nico and him to just argue more. He didn't have any other reason besides that though, and even if Leo was a bit of dense idiot sometimes, he wasn't one who was going to make the someone feel like a little kid. Especially someone who wasn't much younger than the captain himself.

He sighed. "I was worried because I thought I was going to be alone again." Leo wasn't sure if what he said was a lie or not, he meant it to be one, but the way it felt, and how it left he spoke it...well it didn't seem like it had been one. He was looking at his feet, and wasn't sure what the other's expression was, and he didn't really care at that moment. He was exhausted, and was sort of grouchy, all he wanted was sleep and to stop arguing with Nico.

"You're an idiot." Leo looked up glaring at the other for the insult, but when he did he got something far from an angry look on the other's face. It sort of looked like a look of...pity? No, it looked like that, but it wasn't pity, it was more of an understanding kind of look. Leo was staring at Nico, who let out a sigh, the scowl reappearing on his face. His lips moved, he was speaking, but Leo wasn't sure what he was saying. He was sort of in a daze...until he got smacked.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?"

"You looked like you were falling asleep while I was talking." Nico spoke in a matter of fact tone, which made Leo roll his eyes and shake his head a bit at. He couldn't exactly yell at him though, Leo probably had been falling asleep on him.

"Okay, so you smacked me?" Leo questioned, the look on his face not matching his tone. He sounded like it was funny while he glared, Nico shrugged at him, almost like it was something he had to have done.

"So, I smacked you. You look tired, you should get some sleep." Nico suggested, moving on from the subject. Leo nodded, agreeing with that comment, already feeling his eyes beginning to close on their own again. He smiled at Nico, patting his head causing a small complaint from the other, before he walked past Nico, going towards the room Leo had chosen as the place he'd sleep in.

It was the next day, and Leo had not woken up in the best way. He'd been tossing and turning, snoring happily away, before he rolled over, and falling off of his bed. He landing on the wood hard, snorting awake, as he sat up quickly and looked around the room. He rubbed his sore head, standing up as he staggered towards the door. He'd fallen asleep with the same clothes on, so he didn't have to worry about changing. He rubbed his eye, and yawned, walking down the hall of the Argo II, making his way to the engine room. He stopped when he made it to the main deck, staring at the sight before him.

Okay, Leo pushed the question to the back of his mind when he first found out Nico was a male. If the guy wanted to wear a dress, who was he to question what he liked or what he was forced to wear? When he saw that familiar black dress again though, the question was at the front of his mind again, and he wasn't going to stop himself this time.

"Why do you wear that?" He saw Nico jump and quickly spin around when he heard the question from Leo. A dark blush was on his face, but the glare on his face gave Leo a sigh he didn't expect him to see Nico in that.

"It's none of your business." He stated, but really, it was Leo's business, if the other was going to wear that around Leo, he deserved a reason right?

"Just answer the question."

"It's none of your business."

"We're going to be keeping this up all day, or at least every time you wear that outfit, so you might as well tell me, I mean it's not like I'll judge you either way for it. So why not just get it out of your system?" Leo was pushing the issue, which wasn't something he typically did when it came to stuff like this, but he was still tired, he really wanted to know, and he really didn't want to ask again.

"It's none of your...oh fuck it, I wore it when I got captured because it was a cruel prank done by the people I was on the ship with."

"Doesn't explain why you're wearing it now." Leo noted, feeling like any moment, Nico was either going to hit him, throw something at him, yell at him, or all three. Instead, Nico huffed in annoyance.

"I'm wearing it now because...uh...well..." Nico trailed off a blush coming to his face (which was amazing he had even stopped blushing before), Leo raised an eyebrow, a smirk coming to his face.

"Don't tell me, you like wearing dresses?"

"No! I'm wearing it cause it was my sister's...and well..it's the only thing I have left of her. When we were younger we use to play dress up, and well...it sort of brings back happy memories." Leo watched as Nico's face lost the rosy red and went pale the more he explained the situation. Keeping quiet as he listened and waited for him to finish.

"It helps cover up the sad ones, right?" Leo questioned, Nico looking at him with a glare, before it softened a bit, his gaze finding it's way to the floor. He nodded, confirming Leo's guess. "I...uh...use to spend most of my time in the engine room when my crew was around. I only went up to converse when I was bored, but...my mom...she use to be a mechanic for this one ship for a long time ago, and I would spend most of my time with her as a little kid. We'd explore, pretend we were pirates, and it was...great." Leo trailed off, he never liked explaining something like that, and Nico noticed the expression on his face, a frown on his own as he stared at the other and listened to him talk.

"So we've both done..or uh...are doing some pretty stupid things to almost put ourselves in those memories again..huh?" Nico question, a sad, painful smile on his face as he looked at Leo. Leo gave the same smile, nodding as he chuckled sadly. It went quiet as they stood there awkwardly, both not looking at each other, their gazes on the floor of the deck. Leo cleared his throat, Nico looking up at him, a simple frown on his face.

"I'm...uh...gonna go work on the engine. You want to come with?" Leo questioned, Nico nodding at the question.

"Let me change first, okay?" Leo nodded as he began to walk over to the engine room's door.

"See ya soon." Leo called, opening the door, walking down the steps before closing it behind him. Nico running off to change.

Nico was far from sure why he had decided to tell Leo about his dress up days with his sister, really he'd lied about the cruel prank. He had already been dressed up like that when he went on the ship, the guys on the ship hadn't even known he was male, and it stayed like that till they were slaughtered in front of him by the female pirates. If he hadn't told them he was related to Bianca...well...he would've probably died that day.

He entered his room, closing the door before undoing the dress's straps, letting it fall off. He'd kept the pants he was borrowing from Leo on, the shirt really had been the only thing he'd taken off when he put the dress on. He put the shirt on, buttoning it up as he thought about the memory of what happened that day, and he did not like that memory. Even if he wasn't fond of the crew itself, he knew what happened to them was just cruel, and he made it official to be scared of female pirates just as much as male ones.

Nico left the room, making his way back to the engine room, barefooted. He didn't really want to wear shoes, he liked the thought of sneaking up on people, and that's mostly why he kept to being shoeless. He opened the door to the engine room, making his way down the steps, going loud enough to let Leo know that he was on his way down. Leo nagged at him about that once, saying that he should at least walk loudly enough for him to know he was there if he couldn't straight out see him. Nico reached the bottom, looking around, Leo wasn't in the chair, or even by the engine like he normally was.

"Hey! Valdez, you dow-" Nico jumped as he heard a noise, causing him to look over in the direction it came. It was over by the right side, and Nico didn't see anything at first, so he began to slowly walk over there. His foot stepped down on something wet, he raised an eyebrow as he looked down at his feet. "What the..." He slowly moved is way forward, not making it far before he slammed into something, which caused his feet to slip on the liquid. Whatever it was he slammed into caused both of them to fall to the floor. Nico had felt himself shift, and figuring he would've landed on his butt, he landed on his stomach. He smacked against something soft, his eyes tightly shut, but he slowly opened them, blinking as he looked down. His face became a dark red as her stared into those chocolate colored orbs, the face on the male under him just as red.

Both Leo and Nico quietly stared at each other for a good five minutes, an awkward and uncomfortable silence filled the room before Leo cleared his voice to speak.

"Well...as uh...much as I like you in this position, I have work to do, so if you could..." He trailed off, Nico could feel his face turning a darker shade, he hesitated, and he wasn't exactly sure why, but the second he processed what the other had asked, he quickly scrambled off, backing up as far as he could. The dark blush was still on his face as he looked everywhere but Leo. Nico glanced at him, he had that weird flirtatious smile on his face as he looked back. Nico had a weird mix combination of wanting to smack and kiss him at the same time, he mentally slapped himself for the thought of wanting to kiss him, and quickly stood up. Putting a glare on his face as he stared at him, the smile never leaving Leo's.

"Come on, Repair boy, you have worked to do." He mumbled, slowly making his way across the liquid and past Leo. "What is this stuff anyway?" Nico quickly stopping as he made his way across, balancing himself on one foot, and rubbed the bottom of his foot. Looking at the stuff on his feet, it was a clear liquid, so part of him wondered if it was water.

"Water that leaked in through the ship, I patched the hole so no more should come in, but that's the cause of it." Nico smiled as his assumption was right, but quickly frowned as he made his way towards the engine, making his way towards the seat. He sat down right as Leo came by, giving him a look of disapproval. Nico smirked at that, and just sat back relaxing in the chair. Leo rolled his eyes, smiling at Nico before he knelt down and began to work on the engine.

Nico watched him, finding it interesting how he worked, he seemed concentrated on what he was doing, and it was fascinating to watch. It was odd, he'd never actually watch Leo work before now, and he wished to himself that he had actually done so before.

"What happened to your sister?" Nico flinched as he heard the question, looking at Leo with a mixed expression, which matched exactly how he felt. Leo wasn't looking at him, so he couldn't see his expression (obviously), but when Nico didn't answer right away, Leo turned to look at him. An apologetic look already on his face.

Nico looked down. "She...she was with a band of pirates...she...she became one herself, joined them when I was only ten." He choked back a sob, covering his mouth for a moment, to try and regain his composure so he could continue. The thought always bringing him discomfort right away when he talked about it. Leo looked at him with concern, reaching over he placed a hand on Nico's knee, in a reassuring way.

"Look, you don't have to continue if you don't want to. I'm sorry for asking." Leo commented, Nico shook his head as he removed his hand, taking a deep breath before he began to talk again.

"She left...joining this female pirate group called The Hunters. On one of their raiding trips...she...she died." Nico felt the tears roll down his face, he brought up a hand and wiped his face, rubbing both of his eyes, Leo's hand stood where it was, gently squeezing the knee, trying to let him know that he was there for him. It was oddly comforting. "As a tribute to the dead, they send the family the information that they've passed on, and how they have. I don't know how, but my parents do, and well...that's what happened..." He trailed off, sniffing a bit, he hadn't cried since he found out the news, and he could feel the effect on his eyes. They were starting to burn. He felt like just letting himself cry, get it out of his system, but he remembered Leo was there and he didn't want to do so in front of Leo.

He looked at Leo, wiping his eyes again, he didn't smile, he didn't see a point to it. Nico waited silently for a few minutes for a 'I'm sorry' or 'That must have been awful' … 'I understand'. That one was always the worse, when people commented on how they understood, no one really did. He wasn't expecting Leo to hug him, it surprised him when he felt the arms wrap around his waist, and Leo's chin on his shoulder. Nico blinked a bit, tears falling down his face, he continued to fight, not wanting to cry, he didn't want to break down in front of Leo. Nico refused to.

He failed not too long after.

He started to sob quietly, his hands resting against Leo's shoulder, his forehead resting against the Latino's shoulder. Nico was sobbing into a stranger's shoulder. Fuck, he even told him what happened to his sister. Half of him argued the other would just use him, or something along those lines, the other half (which Nico considered the more stupid part of his brain) disagreed, telling him that it was good he finally got it out. Either way, Nico wasn't going to stop crying any time soon.

Nico wasn't sure how long he'd been crying into Leo's shoulder, or when Leo had brought Nico closer to him, but when Nico finally calmed down. He pulled away from Leo, who smiled at him gently. Nico's eyes were burning now, he wasn't sure if it was from the crying itself, or the tears, but Nico kept rubbing them, just making his eyes more irritated. He sniffed a bit, looking at Leo's chest, his arms were still around Nico, and now that he actually noticed he was sitting on Leo's lap. So Nico did the thing that came naturally. He glared at Leo. Well...more like his chest, but still.

"Why am I sitting on your lap?" He questioned, his voice hoarse, he looked at Leo, the glare still on his face. Leo shrugged as he pulled him closer, Nico's instincts screaming to push away, but at that moment, he was too exhausted to listen to it.

"You were falling off the chair, so I decided to just move you to my lap." Leo sounded like it was an everyday thing. Nico would've moved off of him, but his mind told him to lean towards him more, and too exhausted to argue, he did. He laid his head on Leo's shoulder, finding comfort in the other's embrace. He could sense the smile that came to Leo's face, because after he did so, Leo's chin found it's way to his shoulder, and he tightened his grip around his waist.

Nico could feel Leo's hand gently running up Nico's back in a soothing motion, but the words he was murmuring was far from soothing. He kept trying to make funny remarks about how funny this was, or how Nico made Leo feel like he was holding a little kid. The Italian honestly wanted to punch Leo at this point, but he just laid against him, huffing and throwing insults at him every now and then. They continued this for about what felt like hours to Nico, but was really only thirty minutes, and it only ended because Nico was getting tired and had decided he wanted sleep, and he didn't want to fall asleep against Leo.

"I'm going to bed." He informed the other male, pulling away, but not moving from the position he was in. Leo had that mischievous smirk on his face that told Nico he was probably going to make a flirtatious remark. Nico prepared himself to smack the other in case it was too perverted (or just because he felt like it).

"Don't I get a kiss? I mean you were leaning against me like we were a couple. It'd be nice if-" Smack. "Oh come on, it wasn't even that perverted of a question. I could've asked if we could-" Smack. "Oh don't be like that, you know you want to~" A couple more smacks came to Leo's forehead before he stopped. He rubbed the area, the smile still on his face. Nico moved and got up, pulling his shirt down before he stretched, the awkward position making him uncomfortable.

"Anyway, as I said I'm going to bed. Night, Valdez." Nico turned on his heels before Leo could say anything else about it.

"Night, Nico."


End file.
